The invention is in the field of paramedical assistance devices and the provision of emergency aid to a victim suffering from a broken femur.
When the femur is broken, the muscles will involuntarily contract unless traction is applied to the leg. If the muscles are left to contract involuntarily for a period of time, they will begin undergoing spasms, and then often will go into fibrulation, in which they are spastically vibrating totally beyond the control of the victim. Especially in the case of a complex fracture when the broken segments of the femur are misaligned, with the jagged broken portions digging into the flesh, spasms or fibulation can be an extremely serious threat to the well-being and life of the victim. Large arteries and other blood vessels passing alongside the femur bone are at risk of being severed, which could cause rapid loss of blood and death in two to three minutes and the conseqential death of the patient.
For this reason, when a paramedic is at the scene of an accident and the accident victim has a broken femur, the leg is put in traction right away with a portable traction device before the victim is taken to the hospital.
There is one prior art traction device on the market which is widely used by paramedic units. This device has several areas in which improvements could be made, and to which the instant invention is addressed. That unit utilizes two poles or braces, extending along opposite sides of the leg. Because if is not lengthwise adjustable, two sizes must be carried in the paramedic unit--one pediatric version and one for adults. The brace extends below the foot, and to put a small child in an adult's brace would result in the awkward protrusion of the brace well below the foot, as much as two or three feet, creating an inconvenience and an unacceptable risk of further injury because of the awkwardness of the arrangement.
Another disadvantage of the prior art traction device lies in its high cost. Paramedics will often carry emergency equipment in the trunks of their private vehicle, but the cost of the unit on the market makes this prohibitive. Also, the prior art device is not lengthwise collapsible, it is somewhat time-consuming to use, and is relatively heavy.
Another problem with the prior art device relates to its efficacy as an aid in protection of the well-being of the victim. The prior art device has a cross bar that passes beneath the thigh from the outer brace to the inner brace, connecting them together. This does not present a problem when the patient is lying prostrate, beyond perhaps the slight discomfort of the feel of the bar passing under thigh just below the buttock. However, if other injuries have interfered with the victim's breathing, the standard procedure is to tilt up his torso, which frees his breathing somewhat. When this is done and the femur is in traction with the prior art device, the thigh is pressed against the cross bar with considerable pressure, causing the crossbar to dig into the flesh of the victim, which may severely pinch the sciatic nerve which runs along the bottom of the thigh, possibly causing further injury to the victim.